Structure

The United Methodist Church is, as a community of believers, a part of the church universal, which is composed of all people, who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Therefore all persons, without regard to race, colour, national origin, social or economic status, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, to participate in its programs, to receive sacraments and to be admitted into its membership in any local church in the connection. In the case of persons whose disabilities prevent them from assuming the vows, somebody else, who has their trust, may recite the appropriate vows on their behalf.

Church membership

Baptized members of the local United Methodist Church are those, who were baptized in that church or in another church and later transferred into that church.
Professing members of the United Methodist Church are those, who were baptized and professed their faith in the church during a service of baptism or reaffirmation of faith. They have full rights and duties of members.
For statistical purposes the number of church members is the number of professing members.
Every baptized and every professing member of the local United Methodist Church is a member of the global United Methodist Church and also of the church universal.

Conference

There shall be a General Conference for the entire Church with such powers, duties, and privileges as are set forth in the Book of Discipline.
There shall be jurisdictional conferences for the Church in the United States of America, with such powers, duties, and privileges as are set forth in the Book of Discipline, provided that in The United Methodist Church there shall be no jurisdictional or central conferences based on any ground other than geographical and regional division.
There shall be central conferences for the church outside the United States of America and, if necessary, provisional central conferences, all with such powers, duties, and privileges as are set forth in the Book of Discipline.
There shall be annual conferences as the fundamental bodies of the Church and, if necessary, provisional annual conferences, with such powers, duties, and privileges as are set forth in the Book of Discipline.
There shall be a charge conference for each church or charge with such powers, duties, and privileges as are set forth in the Book of Discipline.

The General Conference shall be composed of not less than 600 nor more than 1000 delegates, one half of whom shall be clergy and one half lay members, to be elected by the annual conferences. The General Conference shall meet once in four years. The General Conference shall have full legislative power over all matters concerning the global church. The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, or change our Articles of Religion or establish any new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established standards of doctrine. The General Conference shall not revoke, alter or change our Confession of Faith. The General Conference shall not revoke, alter or change any part or rule of our government so as to do away with episcopacy or destroy the plan of our itinerant general superintendency.

Bishop’s office

In the United Methodist Church, there is one Bishop’s office with powers and duties based in the Constitution. The bishops are elected by the respective jurisdictional or central conferences. The bishops of the United Methodist Church compose the Council of Bishops, which meets at least once a year. The Council plans for the general oversight and promotion of the temporal and spiritual interests of the entire Church and for carrying into effect the decisions of the General Conference.

The head of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe is Bishop Dr. Patrick Ph. Streiff. The bishop appoints superintendents as his representatives in countries of his episcopal area. Presently, Mgr. Petr Procházka serves as a superintendent of the Czech District and prof. ThDr. Pavel Procházka, Ph.D serves as a superintendent of the Slovak District of The Annual Conference of the Czech and Slovak Republics. The bishop and the superintendents compose the Cabinet, which carries out personal management on the Annual conference level.

Czech Republic

The District Conference in Czech Republic elects a District Council, which administrates property, financial and other matters of the church.

The United Methodist Church in Czech Republic has 13 charges with more than 20 local churches. Sunday services, Bible studies, children, youth, women and choir meetings, as well as home groups contribute to a spiritual growth of individuals and churches.

The Church serves poor and otherwise needed people: runs asylum and half- way houses, a center and community for substance addicts, provides prevention lectures in schools and cares for families in maternity centers. The Church has founded a kindergarten and prepares opening of an elementary school.

Figures

Nowadays, the World Methodist Council unites over 90 independent churches in 63 countries with overall number around 50 million of members. The Czech United Methodist Church has 1800 members.